On mainstream lib blogs, especially the comment sections, they often tell themselves they're the real patriots. They like to point out how Republicans vote down healthcare for veterans or boo gay soldiers or don't support rape victims in the military. I don't know if they actually buy into this stuff or it's a meta-reaction from the Cold War and War on Terror.

Calling patriotism that goes too far "jingoism" reminds me of how when people want to defend capitalism ruining everything they call it "crony capitalism."

Since "jingoism" is defined as "extreme patriotism, especially in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy", calling patriotism that goes too far "jingoism" seems fairly accurate to me.

I'm not sure why it bothers you when liberals say things that are objectively true, but there you go. I'm also not sure why giving big piles of money to the Pentagon is considered supporting our troops but trying to actually provide real support for them isn't.

In my experience, confederate flag wavers consider themselves highly patriotic, in general. They also, in my experience, generally don't believe they are in any way racist. I find both opinions, self identified, equally unlikely to be true.

Nothing demonstrates one's patriotism like waving the flag of a country we once went to war with.

And that's not really a policy paper, a policy paper explains how those things are to be achieved. One of clinton's (many) faults on the camping trail is that she would read a policy paper to her audience. They would nod off, and then complain that she never addressed any of the issues that she spoke about, while repeating over and over the one line out of context that makes it look like it means the opposite of what it says.

So, the slogan, while maybe a bit unwieldy, is not a policy paper, not even a policy. It is a goal to be achieved through policies.

This may not be obvious to those who think that Make America Great Again is a policy, but that too, is just a slogan.

It also unfortunately will lead Trump to inevitably mock the slogan with comments like"A better deal?! I'm the king of deals, I wrote the Art of the Deal, no one makes deals like I do, blah blah" and on and on until the midterms. Maybe not the best choice.

I'm also not sure why giving big piles of money to the Pentagon is considered supporting our troops but trying to actually provide real support for them isn't.

Probably because America has a violent, pro-war culture. They even "declare war" on domestic issues like drugs and poverty and militarize their police. One could argue picking up litter on the side of the road or volunteering at a soup kitchen is patriotic, but that's not generally how it's used.

A lot of these slogans, including the one they went with, seem like silly riffs to contrast the current administration. I think that's a bad idea in general and the Democratic Party should instead craft a message that doesn't lend itself to being a comparison to their opponents.

I don't think there's anything particularly bad about "A Better Deal." I could do without the sub-title, but I suspect that won't be emphasized on the stickers, t-shirts and ugly hats. I mean, it's not a barn-burner, I admit, but neither is "Make America Great Again." In fact, it's incredibly similar to that. It's a purposefully broad notion that can apply in a lot of areas - it's what you do with it that matters.

Washington was abuzz this week with talk about the new Democratic agenda, “A Better Deal,” which is suddenly dominating news coverage and captivating voters with a plan to remake the American economy, sending Republicans scrambling for a viable platform of their own in advance of the midterm elections.

No, not really. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention on the beach.

<snip>

The slogan, which apparently took months of focus-grouping to perfect, rather than the five seconds of idle thought while doing the laundry that you would think it required, evokes — yet again — memories of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, which remain powerful in exactly two places in America: nursing homes and Democratic leadership meetings.

Emphasis added.

I did lose a bit of respect for Matt Bai with his incessant hammering at Hillary during the campaign, but this was pretty funny and did have what I thought as some cogent analysis.

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